Here is a situation that used to produce a nasty surprise, and no longer can.
You set a £200 weekly deposit limit. On Monday you deposit £150. On Wednesday you have a decent session and withdraw £100. On Thursday you try to deposit another £100 and the site blocks it, because you have £50 of your limit left, not £150.
That is a gross deposit limit working exactly as intended. Your withdrawal did not give you headroom back. And since 30 September 2026 it is the only kind of limit a UK site is allowed to call a "deposit limit".
The rule, and when it landed
The requirement sits in RTS 12 of the Gambling Commission's remote gambling and software technical standards, which is a licence condition rather than guidance. Its stated aim is "To provide all customers with facilities to apply financial limits to their accounts".
The second phase of the new wording was originally due on 30 June 2026. In a notice dated 26 May 2026 the Commission extended it, saying it "has extended the implementation period of the second phase to the end of September 2026" to give operators more technical development time. The live RTS 12 page was last updated on 30 September 2026, which is the date the current wording took effect.
So this is not an upcoming change. It is the law of the land now, on every UKGC-licensed site.
What a gross deposit limit is
A gross deposit limit caps how much money you put into your account over a set period. Full stop. What you take out does not come into it.
The contrast is a net deposit limit, which subtracts withdrawals. That is the version most players assume they have, and under the old rules some sites did offer it under the deposit limit label. Now they cannot. RTS 12B is blunt about it: "Only limits that meet this definition can be referred to as a deposit limit."
Net limits have not been banned. They are now an optional extra that must be called something else, alongside stake limits and loss limits. If a site offers you one, it has to be clear that it is not the deposit limit.
| Limit type | What it counts | Can it be called a "deposit limit"? |
|---|---|---|
| Gross deposit limit | Everything you pay in over the period | Yes, and only this |
| Net deposit limit | Deposits minus withdrawals | No |
| Loss limit | Net losses over the period | No |
| Stake limit | Total amount staked | No |
The practical difference is enormous for anyone who plays and withdraws in the same week. A net limit of £200 can accommodate £2,000 of deposits across a week of winning and losing sessions. A gross limit of £200 means £200 in, and then the door is shut.
That is the point of the change. A limit that resets every time you withdraw is not much of a limit.
The three periods every site must offer
RTS 12B requires gross deposit limits to be available over three durations:
- 24 hours
- 7 days
- 1 month
And they must be fixed periods rather than rolling ones. A rolling seven day window moves with you; a fixed one resets on a set day. Rolling windows are still permitted for the other limit types, but not for the gross deposit limit.
Limits must also apply at least at account level. A site may additionally offer limits on a specific product or channel, but if it does, it has to be clear which one you have set. The Commission's guidance is explicit that "a customer should not be misled into assuming that the limit automatically applies to other products", so if you set a limit inside the casino section, check whether it covers sportsbook deposits too.
Overlapping limits: the most restrictive one wins
You can run more than one at once, and the arithmetic catches people out. The Commission's own example is worth working through.
Set a £10 daily limit and a £100 weekly limit. You might expect to be able to deposit £100 across the week. You cannot. Because "the most restrictive limit must always apply", the daily cap binds every single day, so the maximum you can actually deposit in a week is £70, not £100.
Seven days at £10 is £70, and the £100 weekly limit never becomes the binding constraint. If you want £100 a week with a daily cap, the daily figure has to be at least £14.29.
This is a good thing to understand before you set them, because a lot of people set a generous weekly figure alongside a cautious daily one and conclude the site is broken.
What happens when you hit the limit
Deposits are blocked. They stay blocked until either the period restarts or you raise the limit.
And raising it is where the real protection lives: an increase is subject to a 24-hour cooling-off period. You can cut a limit whenever you like and it applies as soon as practicable, but you cannot raise it in the moment. That one-way friction is deliberate, and it is the single most useful feature of the whole system, because the moment you most want to raise a deposit limit is the moment you least should.
Under RTS 12A the site also has to tell you when a new limit comes into force, so you are not guessing.
You will be asked to set one
RTS 12A requires the gambling system to prompt you to set a limit either as part of registration or at the point of your first deposit. Facilities to set limits must be easily accessible at any time from the point of registration onwards.
So if you open a new account and get a deposit limit prompt that feels like it is slowing you down, that is a compliance requirement rather than an upsell. The site has no discretion about it.
What this means in practice
A few things follow.
Check what your existing limit actually is. If you set a limit before autumn 2026, it may have been a net limit relabelled, or converted. Open your account settings and look at what the period is and whether withdrawals affect it. The behaviour may not be what it was when you set it.
Set the daily one, not just the monthly one. A monthly gross limit is easy to burn through in a single bad evening. The daily cap plus the 24-hour cooling-off on increases is the combination that actually does something.
Do not rely on a limit set on one site. These are per-operator. A £50 weekly limit at one casino does nothing at the next one. If what you need is a block across the board, that is GAMSTOP, not a deposit limit, and it is a different tool for a different problem.
Understand it is not the same as a financial risk check. Deposit limits are something you set. Financial risk checks are something the operator runs on you. We covered those separately in UKGC financial risk checks, and the thresholds are nothing to do with your own limits.
Frequently asked questions
Do withdrawals increase my deposit limit again?
No. A gross deposit limit counts everything you pay in over the period and ignores what you take out. If your weekly limit is £200 and you have deposited £200, withdrawing £500 does not let you deposit again until the period resets.
Can I still get a limit that accounts for withdrawals?
Some sites offer a net deposit limit as an optional extra, but it cannot be labelled a deposit limit. Check what it is called and read the description.
How quickly can I lower my deposit limit?
As soon as practicable after you ask. RTS 12A requires the site to implement the limit promptly and to tell you when it comes into force.
How long does it take to raise a deposit limit?
An increase is subject to a 24-hour cooling-off period. Decreases are not.
What periods can I set a deposit limit for?
Every UKGC-licensed site must offer 24 hours, 7 days and 1 month, on fixed rather than rolling periods.
If I set both a daily and a weekly limit, which applies?
The most restrictive one, at all times. A £10 daily limit with a £100 weekly limit means you can deposit a maximum of £70 in a week, because the daily cap binds every day.
Does my deposit limit cover the sportsbook as well as the casino?
It depends on whether you set an account level limit or a product level one. Limits must be offered at account level as a minimum, and the site has to make clear which one you have set. Check rather than assume.
What happens if I hit my limit mid-session?
Further deposits are declined until the period restarts or you raise the limit, and raising it takes 24 hours. Your existing balance is unaffected.
The short version
The change is small on paper and significant in practice. A deposit limit now means what the words say: a cap on money in. Withdrawals do not refill it, the strictest limit you have set always applies, and you cannot loosen it on impulse.
If you use one tool on a gambling site, use this one. Our bankroll management guide covers how to pick a figure, and the responsible gambling page covers what to do if a limit is not enough.
The full requirement is on the Gambling Commission's RTS 12 financial limits page, and the implementation extension notice is here.
